00:0023-year-old rapper Clémence Fundico Minja has never known peace.
00:06Growing up in eastern DR Congo, violence is never far away.
00:13Last year, M23 Rebel seized the city of Goma, but its music scene has endured,
00:19and Minja, under her stage name Clem Cleopat, closed out the three-day women's talent festival on Sunday.
00:26For me, all I want to convey in my music is peace, because that's what we don't have.
00:33And for me, peace is the foundation of everything we want,
00:37because for us, you may not know this, but for us, all that matters is living in peace.
00:46Minja isn't alone. Sunday saw crowds of young people dancing and singing,
00:51a rare opportunity since the M23 takeover.
00:56In our region, a war started a year ago, and people don't get together like this, like today.
01:02But today, we found a place where we can express our frustration,
01:06our experiences in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
01:15Now, in its seventh year, the Women's Talent Festival promotes female artists in the region.
01:23This is a place where we can feel like we belong to a vibrant community.
01:28We know that the security situation isn't good, and everything that goes with that.
01:34But when we have these kinds of events, it's something that adds value to our community.
01:40As well as promoting female artists, the festival is also aimed at finding alternatives
01:46to the violence that permeates the region.
01:55We're here to mobilise and use non-violent ways, use the arts as a weapon of peace,
02:01because we think that war has failed.
02:11For these young people enjoying the music, war can briefly feel a long way away.
Comments